MAGA Is the New 'Rage Against the Machine' for GenZers Tired of 'Establishment' Democrats

Every time I attend the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), I am always struck by the increasing number of young people that attend. As conservatives, the younger generation might not be as doomed as we think based on the portrayal of them all being tree-hugging leftists as the media would have us believe. But with the momentum of the MAGA movement and the election of Donald Trump, young people, who are perhaps the most willing among us to go out on a limb and try something new, are doing just that with conservatism and the Republican Party.

It's magnificent to see so many that are clearly embracing conservatism. They recognize that it is the key to a good and prosperous future! https://t.co/PsA79QC8xZ pic.twitter.com/0NFmhD8iFs
— Croxxed Out (@FLCons) September 26, 2024

GenZ podcaster Brett Cooper validated that idea during an interview on Monday on "Fox & Friends." What's even more glorious is that she stated that GenZers have begun to see the Democratic Party as "establishment." Cooper also brought up the fact that Democrats did not get to choose their own candidate when Joe Biden was unceremoniously switched out for Kamala Harris. By doing so, Democrats brought that establishment label on themselves.

But that old saying, "If you are young and not liberal, then you have no heart; but if you are old and not conservative, then you have no brain," may be being challenged in the age of Trump and MAGA. The conventional wisdom is that young people are drawn to progressivism because of the cool factor of inclusivity. "Fox & Friends" host Ainsley Earhardt asked Cooper if that was what she was seeing among her peers. Her answer might be a bit surprising to some. She agreed that:

"GenZers are more progressive than other generations, but I think we've realized that it's not the end all be all. But being inclusive, being empathetic, being a good person does not make our economy better. Being overly loving and tolerant and bending and changing our entire society for a small minority of people, a small fraction of people in these intersectional communities, that is not going to make our lives better. And I think that they have been taunted and jeered at, and been told that they are inherently racist or inherently homophobic for making a joke. I think that they just snapped and said this isn't creating any tangible change for my future."

President Trump and Elon Musk have made it cool to be conservatives! 😎🖤 pic.twitter.com/R9vYqtKa24
— KatMan (@KatMan_8) February 20, 2025

Brett Cooper is not wrong in the fact that GenZers and other young people are seeing conservatism as cool and, dare I say, counter-cultural. It is an idea that has been emerging for quite a while. Cooper says that GenZers are tired of being taunted and called racists. Are they beginning to see that progressivism has no interest in their freedom of speech? As GenZers graduate from college and escape the academic bubble of progressivism, they want to do things like buy a home. But, for many GenZers, the real-life concept of a bad economy is creeping in on the fantasies of progressivism. A Joint Center for Housing Studies survey says that GenZ is the only age group that is adding renter households. An Insurify poll said that 13 percent of GenZers who said they would like to own a home don't think they ever will. Another 23 percent said that planning for their future is stressful because they are unsure what their financial picture will look like.

ALSO READ: Conservative 'Hippies' and the New Counterculture

Democrats did not listen to anyone during the 2024 election cycle, and they especially did not listen to young people. They assumed they could buy their votes with things like student loan forgiveness and keep them in the progressive movement. Cooper's assessment of GenZ is that they are finding out that progressivism is not delivering on its promises, and because rebellion is part of being young, they are looking elsewhere. The MAGA movement is telling GenZers, and they are listening, that free speech is cool, that faith and family are cool, and that they are not inherently racist. Back in the day, Democrats' rallying cry was "Fight the man." Now, to young people, something that could be further devastating to Democrats — they have become "the man."

Cooper summed up the feelings of her generation, saying, "Trump is, and this new conservative party and MAGA is...the raging against the machine." Pretty cool.

"Trump is in this new conservative party and MAGA is the raging against the machine."

Podcast host Brett Cooper explains what is spurring more Gen Zers to turn toward conservatism on @foxandfriends. pic.twitter.com/p2O9qktckB
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 24, 2025